The Picture
by CatReadMyDiary
Summary: A picture from 'A' brings Spencer's feelings to light.
1. Chapter 1

As Spencer shut the front door of her house and walked down her driveway, she pulled the printed photo out of her back pocket. She met the sidewalk and stopped for a minute to inspect the little present from A, which she mysteriously discovered on her laptop when she woke up this morning. She inferred that the window in the picture belonged to Emily. Inside, she could make out two heads leaning into each other for a kiss. One head belonged to Emily and the other to a red-headed girl with bangs. Spencer knew of only one girl with such hideous hair. After all, this was Rosewood, the town of gorgeous hair.

"How can Emily be doing this to herself again?" Spencer began wondering, feeling a slight pang of rage mixed with jealousy. These conflicting emotions confused her greatly. All she knew is that she needed to talk to Em. She had to talk some sense into her.

With this resolve, Spencer turned and headed for Emily's house. She walked up the front steps and stopped at the railing to stuff the photo back into her pocket. As she looked down at her flannel shirt and paint-stained shorts, she wished she had worn something a little more girly for Emily's mom, who had begun looking at her funny ever since Emily came out.

Spencer rang the door bell and waited for an answer. To her surprise, Emily came to the door. "Oh hey Spence. My mom went to town for the day, so I'm just hanging out by myself. Wanna come up to my room?" Spencer sighed with relief, nodded, and gave Emily a little half smile.

Emily sat down and cleared her bed of the magazines that covered it. Spencer took a seat next to Emily and took a deep breath.

"Spencer, is something wrong?" Emily inquired. "A sent this to me," Spencer replied and shifted her body to take the photo out of her pocket. She handed it to Emily, whose jaw dropped and then closed as her lips pursed. Emily flung her beautiful, black hair over her shoulder as she turned to Spencer and began to explain, "You know, Paige isn't so bad, she's just-"

Spencer interrupted, "Emily! Paige has always been manipulative. She's just taking advantage of you like Alison did. The only difference is that Paige may actually have feelings for you."

"So then what's the problem? Paige likes me and I like her. We're happy together," Emily said defensively.

"What about when things don't go her way? Remember when you took her place on the swim team and she went crazy on you? The same thing will happen if you stop giving her what she wants and I won't just sit around to see that happen! I care about you too much," Spencer said as she rested her hand on Emily's arm.

Spencer looked into Emily's eyes but had to look away as tears began to form in the corners of her own.


	2. Chapter 2

"Why is this upsetting you so much?"

"I - I don't know," Spencer stuttered as she stood up and walked towards the window. She knew the reason, but was too scared of the consequences that would follow if she revealed it. She could trust Emily though. Maybe they could face this together.

She glanced over at Emily and said "I feel like you know me more than I know myself. When you look at me it's as if you're looking straight into my soul. You understand me. You're different from the other girls.."

"Well yea Spence." Emily stood up, ripped the photo, tossed it in her trash can, and continued, "We're both different. We've always been closer with each other than with the other girls. When Alison was still here, the three of them kind of left us in the dust sometimes."

"Yea," Spencer raised her eyebrows slightly, nodded in agreement, and looked down at the floor, "we're the outcasts. I think we see things deeper than the other girls do. But it's more than just that. We sort of.. even each other out. You're the careful, forgiving, sweet one while I'm reckless, pugnacious, and-"

"-full of passion," Emily said, walking over to her and placing a comforting hand on her arm, "you just feel things more intensely than most people."

Spencer couldn't control herself any longer. She lunged forward, grabbed Emily's neck, and kissed her passionately. Feeling Emily's reciprocation, Spencer was in complete ecstasy. There was no way she was stopping now.

As both girls broke for air, reality hit Emily. She tried forming the names "Paige..Toby" but they were hardly audible as Spencer quickly muffled them her with her mouth and began pushing Emily towards the bed.

Reaching the bed quicker than expected, Emily almost fell backwards, but Spencer caught her and eased her down onto it. She crawled on top, straddling Emily, and stared down at those beautiful brown, soul-seeing eyes looking up at her.


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you guys for all the feedback. I really appreciate it.  
I already have an idea for how I want this relationship to play out, but I will take your thoughts into account so please continue to let me know them.

* * *

"Spencer..." Emily said in a breathy whisper. She began wondering if this was a bad idea. Yes, she loved Spencer. Love - what does that mean exactly anyways? But she never thought of her as more than a friend. She had always been so focused on Alison, then Maya, and then Paige. This was all happening so fast.

Before she could protest, Spencer leaned down and kissed her. It felt right. These novel kisses weren't awkward or forced. It was as if they were exactly what she had been craving all these years. What made them so different from all the others?

Spencer broke the kiss and hovered over Emily. "Are you thinking about Paige?"

"No," Emily replied, looking down at Spencer's facial birth mark, "I was thinking about how crazy this is. I'm just surprised."

With that, Spencer made her signature half smile and focused her attention on getting them both undressed. She peeled Emily's shirt off of her as she leaned forward. She then unbuttoned her own and slid it off her shoulders. Her eyes traveled down to the small little button on Emily's jeans that kept her from what lie beneath. Her hands began to tremble as she slowly undid them.

"Have you done this before?" Emily asked. Spencer nervously shook her head and reached up to give Emily another kiss.

"EMILY!" Mrs. Fields screamed.


	4. Chapter 4

Spencer's head snapped back to see Emily's mother standing in the doorway, looking disgusted. She grabbed her shirt with haste and leapt off the bed.

"Emily.. how could you?" Mrs. Fields looked at Emily disappointedly, "I got a text from some person called 'A' saying you were in your room with another girl... kissing..." She had to stop for a second to collect herself, "I thought for sure it was some kind of joke." Her eyes veered toward Spencer as she gasped, "Spencer!"

Emily couldn't believe this was happening. She grabbed her shirt to cover herself and began to beg, "Mom.. please.."

Spencer looked at Emily in a reassuring manner and tried to diffuse the situation by saying, "Mrs. Fields, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

Pam put a hand up to stop her, "Save it. I thought I could trust you and the other girls around my daughter, but I guess I was wrong. Just go."

"What are you going to do?" Spencer was getting agitated now, "I admit, it was disrespectful for us to be doing this in your house, but you can't ban her from seeing us anymore."

"Spencer, when you're a mother you'll understand how heartbreaking it is to see your own flesh and blood going down the wrong path. Until then, you have no business telling me what I can and cannot do when it comes to my daughter."

Spencer knew she shouldn't be saying these things. She knew she should just leave and let Emily fight her own battle, but this whole situation was her fault.

"You're wrong Mrs. Fields. Emily is not going down any 'wrong path'. You need to put aside your old-fashioned views and begin to accept that your daughter is gay and that'll never change," Spencer took a deep breath, "I love your daughter for exactly who she is and I'll be damned if I'm going to let you try and screw her up."

Before either Pam or Emily could say anything, Spencer walked to the door, looked back at Emily and said, "I'm not going anywhere," then proceeded out the door.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for the short chapters. Keeping them short allows me to update more often because I don't have a whole lot of time during the week. **  


* * *

Emily sat on her window seat and gazed out at the clear, blue sky. It had only been a day since the incident, though it felt like weeks had passed.

After Spencer left yesterday, her mom had initiated lockdown. No phone. No internet. No TV. No girls. Nothing that might "trigger" her "disease".

She yearned to see Spencer's face and to talk with her about what had happened, but even more so, she longed to hear that warm, comforting voice that always put her at ease.

Emily was awoken from her trance as she heard a knock at the front door. She jumped up and ran to the staircase, but stopped at the first step when she saw her mom had already beaten her. Pam looked up at her sternly, as if to say "don't you dare," and turned to open the door.

It was Hanna. "Hi Mrs. Fields. Is Emily home?"

"She is, but she's grounded right now."

"Oh. Well, I guess I'll just see her tomorrow at school then."

"No. You won't be seeing her at school. We're moving Texas to be with her father. Tell your friends not to call or come here again." With that, Pam slammed the door and stood there, unmoving.

"Mom.." said Emily with a mix of desperation, disbelief, and confusion.

Without looking up at her daughter, Pam maintained her composure and said, "Please don't make this difficult Emily. It's already been decided. You need your father. I think his absence is causing you to act out." Then she turned and walked away.

Emily's knees were trembling, so she slowly lowered herself to sit on the staircase. She could feel a gut-wrenching pain in her stomach as her throat began to burn and her eyes filled with tears.


	6. Chapter 6

Hanna made her way down the steps of Emily's porch. "What the hell was that about," she wondered. She then rummaged through her purse and pulled out her phone to call Spencer.

Spencer answered, "Hey Hanna.."

"Hey Spence. Have you talked to Em lately?

"Not since yest-"

"-because I just went to her house and her mom said that they're moving to Texas! She said not to try calling or coming to their house ever again. Do you know what's going on? Did something happen to Mr. Fields?"

"No. Her dad is fine. Hanna, can you get Aria and meet me at my house? You both need to know the whole story."

* * *

"Thanks for coming you guys," Spencer said as she walked over and stood behind her kitchen counter. Hanna and Aria took a seat on the stools across from her.

Hanna just wanted to know what was going on. She was getting worried. "What's the deal Spence?"

"It all began yesterday after A sent me a picture; a picture of Emily and Paige, kissing-"

"-Hold on. Paige McCullers? The girl who was bullying Em?" Aria asked.

"Yes, that Paige," confirmed Spencer.

"Oh my gosh! Paige is a lesbian? Well, isn't that ironic," Hanna smirked, then remembered how serious this situation was, "go on Spencer."

Spencer looked at both of their faces, sighed, and said, "There's really no easy way of saying this, so I'm just going to say it. I'm in love with Emily."

Hanna and Aria gasped, but allowed Spencer to continue, "I've been denying it for so long. Then she came out and now she's kissing all these girls. When I saw that picture of her and Paige I was so enraged. At first I thought it was because of what Paige has done to Emily, but then I took the picture to show Em and that's when I realized exactly why I care so much about who she kisses. It's because I love her so much. Ultimately I just want her to be with someone who treats her right because I want her to be happy. Even more than that, I want to be with her. I want to be the one who makes her happy."

The three girls sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity. Hanna broke it as she started giggling. The girls looked at her, puzzled.

"Sorry. It just seems like everyone is becoming a lesbian these days. I feel like I missed the memo. I think this is great though, Spence. You and her will make such a cute couple."

"Hanna.." Aria rolled her eyes and then looked at Spencer, who remained as serious as ever. "So you went to her house, talked to her about the picture, and then what?"

"I kissed her. It was such an impulsive move. When she kissed me back things started progressing so quickly and we ended up on her bed. It wasn't until we both had our shirts off that her mom walked in."

"Oh god," Hanna and Aria said in unison.

"There was some yelling back and forth. Her mom is still so disillusioned. She probably thinks that moving to Texas is going to "cure" her from being gay," tears began forming in Spencer's eyes, "Poor Em.. this is all my fault.."

"We can't let Mrs. Fields take her away. We have to do something," Hanna announced desperately.

Spencer agreed, "My thoughts exactly. I just wish I knew what that something was."


	7. Chapter 7

**I hope this chapter sounds alright. With it being so long I kept losing focus while revising it.**

* * *

Emily wiped the tears from her eyes. She couldn't just keep sitting in her room wishing this would all go away. It was time for her to take action; time to be rebellious.

She had never been one to defy her parents. Being their perfect little daughter, she never did drugs, drank, or had sex, but now only one of those remained true and Emily planned to commit that third act of defiance if it was the last thing she did before her mother dragged her out of Rosewood.

Emily tiptoed down the staircase and stopped at the door to listen for her mother. She could hear her talking on the phone in the kitchen. Emily took a deep breath and opened the front door. Without waiting to see if her mother had heard her, she started running as soon as her foot hit the porch.

Before she knew it, she was standing outside the side door to Spencer's house. Through the window she could see Spencer, Aria, and Hanna sitting around the kitchen counter. Emily opened the door and walked in.

"Emily!" Spencer exclaimed and ran over to hug her. She squeezed her tightly until Emily pushed her away, looking over at the other girls.

"I told them."

Emily looked at Spencer and smiled, "Oh.."

With that, Spencer pulled Emily into her body and kissed her.

Hanna and Aria looked at each other, still a little in shock.

"Should we leave you two alone?" asked Aria.  
"Yea, you guys probably want to finish what you started earlier," Hanna chipped in.

Emily looked at the other girls and then down at the floor, a little embarrassed.

This didn't phase Spencer who became all-business, turned to the girls, and said, "No, you can't leave yet. We still need to figure out what we're going to do. Mrs. Fields will freak when she finds out that Emily is gone and this is going to be the first place she looks."

"About that.. She might've heard me leave. She might even be making her way over here as we speak."

"Oh great. Don't you think you should've mentioned that first Em?"

Being the calm voice of reason, Spencer told Hanna, "Calm your tits," and informed them of her plan, "I'll take Emily to the motel. You guys need to be in your houses when Pam comes looking for Em so you can say that you haven't seen her. If she asks you where I am, say I'm with Toby."

Emily raised her brow. "You really want to make her think you're straight?"

"Being with Toby doesn't mean I'm straight," Spencer responded and then said to the girls, "Meet us at the motel after dark."

* * *

"This is... cozy," said Emily as she looked around the motel room.

Spencer half-smiled and handed Emily a bag. "I grabbed some clothes for you."

"Thanks."

In the silence, Emily remembered her mission. She was ready to lose her virginity and now was a perfect opportunity. She threw the bag on the floor, grabbed Spencer's hand, and pulled her into the bathroom. Emily reached into the shower to turn it on. As the sound of the spraying water masked the quiet of the room, she began undressing herself.

Spencer stood there in awe, watching her. She had seen her friend naked before, but this time was different. This wasn't one of their innocent sleepovers. This time Emily was getting naked just for her.

Fully undressed, Emily stepped into the shower and beckoned for Spencer to join her.

"Emily, are you sure about this? Yesterday I was acting impulsively. Now I'm realizing that this might be happening too fast for you. Your first time should be special and I don't want you to be doing this in spite of your mother."

"I thought this was your first time too."

"You asked me if I had done 'this' before. This is my first time doing stuff with a girl."

Emily turned off the water and folded her arms in an attempt to keep warm. "You've slept with a guy?"

"Yes. Ian." Spencer looked down at the bathroom tiles in shame. "It was stupid. I know that now." She looked up to see that Emily wasn't judging her.

"I think I look for comfort from all the wrong people. First with Ian, then Wren, Alex, and now Toby. Each of them came into my life in times when I needed some validation and when they left it didn't bother me in the slightest because I didn't care about them. I do care for Toby though. He's an amazing guy. I just realize now that I don't want him the way that I want you."

She was exposing herself more than Emily was exposing herself standing there in the nude. Emily loved seeing this side of Spencer.

Spencer noticed that Emily was shivering, so she pulled her out of the shower and held her.

"You're getting me all wet," said Spencer. Realizing what she had just said, they both looked at each other and laughed.

As she stood there in Spencer's arms, the questions that Emily had asked herself only a day ago came to a fore.  
What made this thing she had with Spencer so different from her other relationships?  
Did she love Spencer more than just a friend?  
What is love exactly?

Emily smiled into Spencer's shoulder. "Everything is falling into place. It all makes so much sense now."


	8. Chapter 8

**So I've kept my promise of updating before the premiere.  
****I just want to thank you guys for your reviews, especially SpencerFan. I love reading what you have to say.  
This story keeps changing as I write it because I get new ideas or because I feel like my original idea doesn't sound right or even that I'm just not sure how to write something. For instance, I was planning on writing a more intimate scene between these two, but I felt like it would come off as meaningless and immature since my writing skills aren't that great. But I hope this was alright and it's not the end. **

* * *

"What do you mean?"

"I love you." Emily lifted her head. "I love you Spencer and I want us to be more than just friends. I want us to be together. Together, together. The thing is, I've never really pursued anyone other than Alison. With Maya and Toby, even Paige, they worked so hard to make things work, even when I treated them terribly. I don't want a relationship like that. I want to work for another person's love for once. You've always been there for me, taking care of me. I want to do that for you. I want to stare at you for long periods of time at a school dance - it was hard not notice that, by the way - just to make sure you're safe. I want to plan a romantic, candle-lit evening in your bedroom. I want to 'destroy' any girl who makes a rude comment about you. I want to do the things that you've been doing for me all this time; all the wonderful, and borderline crazy, things."

Spencer laughed. "You bring out the best in me, and sometimes the worst." Emily's words reverberated in her head and made her feel as though nothing else mattered. Nothing could ruin this feeling. Her eyes slowly fell to Emily's lips. She wanted to feel them against her skin, now more than ever before. Her body tingled as jolts of adrenaline pumped through her body. She swallowed her sudden nervousness away and continued, "but I think you should know, I'm already in love with you Emily. Whether you like it or not, I'm already yours."

Emily smiled and then, as if she had read Spencer thoughts, planted a light kiss on her neck. Spencer closed her eyes and moaned softly. Encouraged, Emily continued a trail of kisses up to her slightly parted lips, where she stopped and hovered for a moment to compose herself.

Feeling Emily's warm breath entwine with hers, Spencer leaned in and took control.

This kiss was unlike their previous ones. It was sweeter. Softer. It was more tangible. Knowing that what they had was real, true love made this kiss superior. It was that kind of kiss that you see in movies. The kind that makes the camera spin.

Spencer leaned her forehead into Emily's and looked into those chocolaty brown eyes, in which she felt she could be lost forever. "These past two days have been far from conventional, but they've also been two of the most amazing days of my life."

"Really?"

"Yes." Spencer smiled. "Sure, having your mom walk in on us was pretty nightmarish, not to mention her trying to move you out of Rosewood really sucks, but none of that matters right now."

"Doesn't it though? When she realizes where I am she's going to drag me out of here, willing or not. I seriously think she's gone crazy ever since she caught us on my bed."

Spencer's smile faded. "Don't worry. We'll figure something out."

Those two simple sentences put Emily at ease. She trusted Spencer completely and was certain that she was formulating some sort of plan as they spoke. Spencer was extraordinary like that.

"What do you think your mom would say if you moved in with Hanna?"

"She'd say no. She doesn't want me hanging out with any of you guys anymore."

"Right, but that's irrational and she'll realize this soon enough. Uprooting you for a year will not only negatively affect your academics, but your swimming as well. We all know that you're going to get some amazing swim scholarship, but if you leave Rosewood you'll miss some important meets. College scouts won't see you. If your mom really wants what is best for you, for your future, she will let you - did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"A knock." Spencer reached for a towel under the sink and wrapped it around Emily. "It's probably Hanna and Aria." She walked out of the bathroom and headed towards the door. Opening it, she found Hanna and Aria. Mrs. Fields was standing behind them.

"Spencer, I'm sorry. She said she was going to call the cops," Aria explained.

"Where's my daughter?" Pam yelled as she reached her arm over Aria to push the door open the rest of the way. Emily had stepped out of the bathroom to see what was going on, allowing them all to see her standing there in nothing but a towel.

Mrs. Fields pushed her way through the girls and stepped into the motel room. "I - I don't even want to know. We are leaving for Texas, right now!" She grabbed Emily by the arm and tried leading her towards the door, but Emily pulled herself away.

"No, mom! I'm not letting you do this to me!" She lowered her voice to say, "I love Spencer and I'm not leaving her. I don't care what you do, but I'm not leaving."

Mrs. Fields looked from Emily to Spencer and then back to Emily. "Your father called this morning. He is being sent back to Afghanistan. For God's sake, Emily. If he knew of what you've been doing, it would break his heart."

"Mom, is this true?"

"Yes, unfortunately. He leaves tomorrow. Now listen, I'm willing to forget about what you've done, for now, as long as you come with me so we can drive to Texas and say goodbye."

"Alright," Emily agreed immediately. She went into the bathroom to put her clothes back on, leaving Pam alone with Spencer, Aria, and Hanna.

"I want you girls to understand that I only want what's best for my family. I would appreciate it if you let Emily have some space. I still plan to move us to Texas and therefore I think it's best to distance yourselves now rather than later."

The three girls stood there feeling utterly powerless. The room remained silent until Emily came out of the bathroom and grabbed her belongings. "Can I have minute?" she asked her mother.

"Sure. I'll be in the car."

"You'll be back, right Em?" asked Hanna.

"Of course. I'll only be gone a few days."

"Your mom said you're still moving," said Aria.

"I'm going to talk to her."

"Dammit, Emily! You can't leave us," Hanna said and quickly wrapped her arms around Emily as if she planned to never let go. Aria joined in by wrapping one arm around Emily and the other around Hanna.

Hanna looked at Spencer. "Get over here."

"You guys are a bunch of dorks," Spencer said, but she gave in and spread her arms wide enough to embrace her three friends.

Hearing a car horn coming from outside the motel, the girls released each other.

Emily looked to Spencer. "This isn't goodbye. I'll do whatever it takes to make sure I come back so we can make this relationship work. This is me working for you. I'll see you guys soon." She casually kissed her girlfriend and walked out the door.

Emily threw her stuff in the back seat of her mom's car and then settled herself in the passenger seat.

Pamela looked at her daughter. "I really do love you, Emily. I'm sorry that things have turned out this way." She sighed and continued, "Your father doesn't deserve to hear any bad news before he leaves, so we won't be mentioning any of this to him. Understood?"

Spencer, Hanna, and Aria walked out of the motel room and waved at Emily. Emily waved back.

"Yeah. Understood."


End file.
